The Apostles' Creed- God the Father (Bonus)

[0:00] Welcome. Thank you for choosing to listen to another word-filled message by David Entry. Preaching is the means by which God manifests His word and nourishes our spirits.

[0:12] May the life of God enter into you anew as you listen to this message. Be blessed. I will be continuing. So last week he spoke primarily about I believe and how he explained that when we say we believe or there are three types of knowledge.

[0:30] The empirical knowledge, you know, when you talk about epistemology, way of knowing things, you can know by personal experience, you can know by inductions, and you can also know by revelation.

[0:44] And there are things we know about God that is based on revelation, however, it's still fact. Revelation is not ethereal or it's not just abstract or non-existent.

[0:56] Revelation is fact. Revelation, which is fact. And then he made us to understand about how faith, we are believers, and when we say we believe, faith is in three aspects.

[1:12] You need the data because you can't say I believe. Believe what? You must say I believe that. I believe in this. I believe that. This. I believe. So belief must have something you believe in.

[1:28] So a subject or an object. I believe in that. I believe this. So you can't just say I believe. You have to believe something. So the fact that you say you believe, we have to find out what do you believe.

[1:40] In the same way, when someone says I don't believe, you can't just say I don't. You don't believe what? So that's why I find it interesting when people say I'm an atheist. That means I don't believe in God.

[1:53] All right. Probably, let's leave the believer aside. Let's define the God. And then when we define the God, we will find out that the God you say you don't believe is actually not God. So, so it's not worth believing.

[2:08] So I agree with you. Even me, I don't also believe in. But if that's what atheism means, then we are all atheists. So when you say I believe, there must definitely be something that you believe in.

[2:21] So the data, that's the noticia and then the ascent. Then you lend credit. Okay, this is the effect. Okay, I believe it. So most of us, before you became born again, those of us who grew up in environments called Christian family, before you became born again, you actually believe that Jesus died on the cross, right?

[2:40] But you were not born again. You are still living a sinful life. I used to be a mass server, but I would have gone to hell if I had that. I was a mass server in church how many times a week? 14 times a week.

[2:52] I was really, really very religious. I believed it. So I believed a little fact I was told. I went through catechism, Apostles' Creed and all that.

[3:04] So I believed it with all my heart. And I believed, I lent accent to it that, yeah, it's true. I accept it. So the fact that you accept it doesn't mean that you're a Christian.

[3:17] So that's what a lot of people base on to say they are Christians. That's why an unbeliever can say, these people call themselves Christians. Or you can say, or people say that, you say you're a Christian.

[3:29] Even that guy is better than you. He's good. He doesn't go to church, but he's better than you. People can be in church, but it doesn't mean they are Christians. Even though they accept, they accept the faith.

[3:39] They accept the things we teach. That Jesus died. Really, they do Easter. They do Christmas. They are better than Jehovah's Witnesses. They do all that, but they are still not born again. Because what makes you born again is the Fudukia.

[3:52] When you commit your life to living by the things you believe. So faith, saving faith must have these three elements as we said last Sunday. Content, ascent, and commitment.

[4:05] You only become born again when you have said, Now I commit myself to live according to the life taught by scripture. So, Christians, this is so important.

[4:19] And it's interesting. It fits so well into what I'm teaching on Sundays. Because in 2 Peter 2, he begins to warn us about false prophets.

[4:30] And sorry, false teachers. 2 Peter 2, verse 1, it says there were false prophets among them. And there will be false teachers amongst us. All right, so Jezebel was one of such.

[4:44] She was a female who calls herself prophetess. And she was allowed to teach in the church. And she was teaching wrong, wrong, wrong, anyway. So the decline of the church of Titeria was because of who they are allowed to be teaching.

[5:00] Yeah. It's there. It's Revelation chapter 2, verse 20, 21. Notwithstanding, I have a few things against you.

[5:12] Because that's the first. That's woman. Go to verse 19. I know your works. And charity. They were doing good stuff, man. If there is war in Afghanistan, they'll be the first to go and send help.

[5:26] Yeah. I know your works. Charity. They were sharing sandwich in King's Cross Station every day. I know your works. Your charity.

[5:36] Service. Faith. Right? They serve. And they had faith. And your patience. They were patient. You know, it doesn't matter what you do. They had time. And their works.

[5:49] And their last to be more than their first. So then let's go to the verse 20. Then it says that not we stand in spite of all these things. I have something against you. Notwithstanding, I have a few things against you.

[6:02] Jesus said, you, this church, it's not a one person. It's a church. This is very important to understand. It's a church. Because the verse 18 talks about to the church of Titeria.

[6:13] To the angel of the church of Titeria. All right. You remember this name, Titeria? Yesterday, I read about Lydia. She came from Titeria. Yeah.

[6:24] They were post people. Titeria is almost like Kessington. Yeah. So we can imagine church in Kessington. All right.

[6:38] No. No. To the church of Titeria, verse 18. To the church of Titeria, write these things. Says the son of God. But when you go to the 20, it says that notwithstanding, I have a few things against you.

[6:49] Because thou suffered the woman Jezebel, which calls herself, prophesied, to teach. That's very important. Now, this phrase, to teach, is very important. It's very, very important.

[7:01] In fact, when they, in Philippi, when they cast out the devil in the girl, Acts 16, 16. Just if those of you are reading your Bible, you would notice. And 16, 16.

[7:12] That girl had a spirit soothsaying. Yeah. Or another way to put it, some translations, a fortune telling. Fortune telling is demonic.

[7:24] Those of you who say you are horoscoper, you are all that. You are just, see, and you don't understand why things are not working. You are exposing yourself to demonic influences. And you say, so because I am Leo.

[7:37] That's why I'm behaving the way I'm behaving. To justify your demonic influence behavior. And the Holy Ghost now can't get involved.

[7:51] Because celestial personalities are controlling your life. Those are the ones that held the angel that was bringing the answer to Daniel. They are there.

[8:01] Celestial images. Celestial personalities. And we are living here with their influence. So, this girl in Acts 16, 16.

[8:14] She had a spirit by which she would predict the future. And most of, some people like that have entered the church. They call themselves prophets. And we like those things.

[8:29] Are those things bad in themselves? It depends on the doctrine behind it. So, whether you should embrace it or not. You have to, first of all, do due diligence.

[8:43] That's why I'm teaching these things. So that you can judge everything. How do you know God is in this or God is not in it? Since you can't really see God. Check it by the word.

[8:54] And doctrine. That is, that's the acid test or litmus test. So, this girl, they cast the devil out of her.

[9:07] And Bible says she brought, I did, I realized that what the people are doing in these prophetic churches. That girl was doing it. Bible said she was bringing much gain. A lot of money.

[9:17] They could make a lot, yeah. A lot of money. Yeah. We just thank God for carries. Because in those days, I'm telling you, a pastor will tell you.

[9:28] Some of the churches, to have congregation like this is because a prophet has come. And he said that there's somebody here. Yeah, you are here. And the Lord is showing me that you are here. And he said, the Lord says you should show a seat of a thousand pounds, everybody.

[9:40] Yeah. And all those things. Oh, and it was bringing a lot of money. For them. Yeah. For them. But this girl was saying, when you studied the text very carefully, what she was saying was true.

[9:52] She said, these are the servants of God. Right? Right or false? Right. It's true. These are the servants of God who tell us, teach us the way of salvation.

[10:03] So, under normal circumstances, she hasn't said anything wrong. And she kept doing it. And Paul knew what spirit was behind it. So, when you're a man of God, you have to be sensitive. People might be singing and jumping and commenting, but you should be able to discern.

[10:18] Sometimes, what kind of spirit is behind this? And Paul said, I command, come out. And then when the demon came out, now the masters realized that loss of money, loss of income.

[10:32] So, they guarded people. Yeah. It was their expectation, their financial plan. They had bills to pay.

[10:43] Now you have cast this. So, they had to get them to go to, they caught them. But I brought you here because of something that I saw in the verse.

[10:57] When they took them, they brought them to the authorities. The verse 20 says that they brought them and said, these men being you are seeing in trouble our city. Look at 21. Why? And they said, they teach customs.

[11:09] They were people who were known to be teachers. And today, in Acts chapter 17, you realize that it was still teachings. They said, the Areopagus, those are Areopagus, the Mars Hill.

[11:22] They said, the philosophers said, we have had you, what is this teachings you are bringing? Can you come here? Yeah, they were interested in their teachings. Yeah. Certain Epicureans and Stoics, so philosophers encountered him.

[11:35] And some said, what does this babbler want to say? Others said, he seems to be proclaiming a foreign god because he preached to them Jesus Christ. They were proclaiming. One of the versions said, our teachings.

[11:48] We want to, what is this teaching? Come and tell us about it. And so, you realize that the Christianity they took there was a message. Oh, you didn't get it. Last Sunday, I made a statement that Christianity is a message.

[12:03] It's a belief system. A belief system that is built on a message. Now, if you missed the message, you have missed Christianity. You can be going to church regularly and being such a nice person and doing a lot of good things.

[12:17] But you actually missed Christianity. You can't believe the false gospel and end up being saved. There's no salvation that a false gospel can bring. So, that means there are people who are in churches who are actually not saved.

[12:32] They are going to hell. Why? Because of the kind of gospel they have believed. Listen, you can't believe the wrong gospel and be saved. It's so essential.

[12:43] So, when they go, you check. Everywhere they went, their problems were not the miracles. Their problems were the teachings. It's the same with Jesus.

[12:54] They didn't crucify Jesus because of the good things he did. They crucified him because of his teachings. And his teachings, as I taught you, were two ways. One of the two sets of teachings.

[13:06] Sayings. One of the teachings about how you should behave when someone slaps you. You know, you know. All those. That one, they didn't have a problem. But the one they had a problem is when he thought that he was the son of God.

[13:17] That's why they killed him. They killed him because of the things he said. Not because of the things he did. Because Christianity is a message. If you say you are a Christian, what is your message?

[13:33] Oh, you see the way this man's behavior is so nice. It's good. It's part of it. But really, the core of your behavior should be a message. A message. So, anyone who comes to you in the name of a man of God.

[13:47] The first thing you should have to check is check their message. You have to check their message. So, as I was teaching last Sunday. The church only goes into decline based on wrong teachings.

[14:03] Or when we begin to water down the teachings. In 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 1. He said, The spirit expressly says that in the latter days, many shall.

[14:15] It says people will depart. Spread it. That latter times, some shall depart from their faith. Say the faith. Say the faith. Now, the faith is not meaning they don't have faith.

[14:28] The faith is a noun. Set of truths. Set of belief system. The noticia. People will depart from me. Giving heed to seducing spirits.

[14:41] Remember Jezebel? Seduce the man of God to commit fornication. And eat food sacrificed to idol. It's your man. Jezebel. Prophetess. Seduces my servants.

[14:54] And he says that in the latter times, people will follow seducing spirits. They will depart from their faith and give heed. The problem is what you are giving attention to.

[15:05] So, we need to watch out the things that we give our attention to.

[15:17] So, he says that the spirit clearly says that people will depart from their, in the latter times, people will depart from their faith. Giving heed to seducing spirits. And not only that, doctrines. Doctrines.

[15:29] Where are the doctrines coming from? Doctrines of devils. What's doctrines? Teachings. Ah. So, then there are satanic teachings.

[15:40] You see, most of us would think when we say satanic teachings, it's the teachings that make you want to sacrifice human life. And what want to make you drink blood at night. And go into the satanic cult.

[15:51] And yum, yum, yum, yum. You see, no, no, no. That's not it. That's not it. So, most people, when they see teachings taught by devils, they think that it is those kind of extreme stuff.

[16:05] But no. What are the teachings taught by devils? In first, in fact, in first Timothy. So, if you go to chapter 6, verse 3. Chapter 6 says, if any man teaches otherwise.

[16:18] Those are the things the devil. The devil is behind the otherwise teaching. Otherwise. The mainstream teaching of the word of God. They can still say we are using the word of God, but you can't tell it's otherwise.

[16:34] And sadly, some are bishops. Some are pastors. Some have very big titles. Yeah. You can't even be a pope and yet be teaching otherwise.

[16:49] And not consenting to wholesome words. Even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. And not the doctrine that accords with godliness. Yeah.

[17:01] First Timothy chapter 1, verse 3. It talks about teachings. Yeah. That you might charge some that they teach no other doctrine. See, that doctrine is where the problem is.

[17:15] Now, why am I doing this exercise? To help you to know what the actual doctrines are. Sound doctrines are. So, as soon as you see other doctrines, you say, ah. Because usually the other doctrines are presented in a very philosophical and very nice way.

[17:32] That it makes sense. The fact that something makes sense doesn't mean it makes God. So, it's important. Not all sound sounding arguments are sound.

[17:46] They are just sound sounding. So, it's important we undertake this exercise. Because Paul said, after I've left. Ravenous wolves will come in amongst you.

[17:58] Not sparing the flock. It's not that they are just eating the flock. They are going to make people make shipwreck of their faith. First Timothy chapter 1, verse 19.

[18:09] Make shipwreck. People will depart from their faith. Because of teachings. Teachings that they get themselves exposed to. So, now. This Apostles' Creed we have been talking about.

[18:21] What, as we heard last week. What's the Apostles' Creed? What do we need the Apostles' Creed? It's just a set of things that the early church.

[18:31] Apostles didn't write it. Right? But when the Apostles were leaving now. All kinds of. You remember there were those of you who listened Sunday. Heresis. Deviations were coming in.

[18:44] The Bible again. You were not there when God spoke to him. And this is a personal. You see, that's why personal experiences can be very dangerous. When people said, it's very personal.

[18:57] It's very personal. God spoke to me. You know, it's between me and God. Please, please, please. That's not Christianity. Christianity is not between you and God. It's between us and God. So, if it doesn't work with us.

[19:09] You have to check whether it's really of God. So, that's why Peter elevated the word of God above personal experience. He said, we were within 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 17.

[19:22] We were with him on the holy mount. We saw. We saw. And we heard such a voice. That came from the excellent glory. This is my beloved child.

[19:32] They heard it. Have you ever heard anything like that before? I can't imagine. God speaking. And you hear it with your tympanic membrane. You hear audibly. This is my beloved. Most of you, that's what you have been waiting for.

[19:47] I think the wait will be a long one. This is my beloved child. In whom I'm well pleased. They heard it. And yes, he says that we have a more sure word of prophecy.

[20:00] That you do well if you take heed. This one. Personal experience. But there's something that we want to lift above personal experience. Because personal experience is so subjective.

[20:12] You can't even be deluded. So, he said that let's elevate the word of God above personal feelings and personal experiences.

[20:24] Anytime I have a dream, it's so true. Every time, that is a baby Christian talking. Baby Christian talking. Even prophets, it's not all of them whose dreams come true.

[20:36] You might have this natural incline. Which potentially, Satan wants to actually use you for something.

[20:48] Yes. Don't tell me it's a gift from God. About Joseph. What Joseph? How many dreams did Joseph have? Are you trying to say, God doesn't speak true dreams?

[21:01] He does. But he has a lot more to say outside of the dreams. He says, how many did you see God speaking in the Bible? When Jesus Christ was about Joseph, the Bible says that an angel appeared to him in a dream.

[21:17] An angel. And Paul, when he went to Macedonia, he said, in a night vision. So, all those things can be true. But these are godly people who fit into God's major move.

[21:30] But you are doing your own thing. And you have said, especially those who said before I even became born again, I used to see dreams. I thought, every time I have a dream, it happens. I had a dream, my cousin had an accident.

[21:41] It happened. I had a dream that my father was going to be promoted to White House. And it happened. I had a dream that Obama was going to win an election. And it happened. So, you know, even that's where before I became a Christian.

[21:51] It's maybe Satan was trying to use you. A spirit of divination was attempting to come on you. You have been born again. And now you are using that as a bargaining chip for spirituality.

[22:04] Excuse me. Timothy followed Paul in Acts chapter 16. Those of you who have been reading your Bible. In Acts chapter 16. Not because, not because he was, he had gifts.

[22:18] But it was, the brethren spoke well of him. The church spoke. The church is not, I find out. It's not only in Lystra. Lystra and Iconium. They were speaking. The churches in Lystra.

[22:29] The churches in Iconium. Spoke highly of the guy. That is a good guy. Paul said, I want somebody like this. Let's go and do the work. And he became the first bishop of Ephesus. Timothy. It wasn't based on spiritual gifts.

[22:41] So I don't know how you even define spiritual gifts. One of our pastors said, somebody came to branches. One of the branches said, I'm a prophet. And God has told me I should come and join Carys.

[22:54] I said, give him, tell him you can come. As for church, you can come. But, don't ever mention his name from the public TV. They are looking for, why do you come and announce yourself that you are a prophet?

[23:06] What are you looking for? Looking for, you see, let the brethren speak well of you. I think you should be more interested in brethren speaking well of you. Than you having personal privatized encounters.

[23:19] Privatized. It doesn't take you anywhere. Because privatized encounters. Okay. Justify it by showing us your fruits. Show us your fruits. How many people have you brought to Jesus? And they are growing a lot.

[23:30] Show us your fruits. And stop telling us about your encounters. Because Satan also gives encounters. Encounters. In history.

[23:41] We have so many people who have met who have encountered Satan. So, the point I am making is that. I think we should start putting emphasis on our usefulness to God.

[23:55] So long as other believers are concerned. What impact are you making? Listen. Before I. As and now.

[24:06] From secondary school. I have many disciples. Secondary school. I wasn't a pastor. Just normal dividentry. And I still remain normal. Thank God. Because I saw something.

[24:18] Actually after 14. I was sharing pastor. Oh. Barnabas and Saul. Then. This is a miracle. The man who has never walked. At Lystra. He walked. And they came. They said. One is called Jupiter. And one is called Mercury.

[24:28] And then the priest of Jupiter brought a whole bull. To come and sacrifice. And Bible says that. They tore their clothes. They ran into the people.

[24:39] People were coming to worship. They said. Please stop it. We are ordinary men. We are men of like passions. We. And I said. Hey. Our modern day charismatic pastors.

[24:49] Hey. He will tell you. One bull is not enough. You have to do it too. Do it too. Add one more. When Peter got to the house of Cornelius. In Acts chapter 10. He fell down to worship. Peter said.

[25:00] No. No. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. I'm an ordinary man. Oh. That God will help us from this house. That we just carry ourselves as ordinary people. Ordinary people with a supernatural God.

[25:13] We are ordinary men. Stop it. Why are you trying to worship? Stop it. I'm an ordinary man. Christ Matthew said. No. No. No. Hey. Why are you standing? You still lie down. Everybody. Don't you know?

[25:26] I'm a man of God. Oh. I'm reading out and I'm having fun. It's so nice. Please. Let's stop using personal experiences.

[25:38] And that means that. The weight of your Christianity. Has a lot to do with your understanding of scripture. And sound doctrine. Wholesome ways.

[25:48] You remember wholesome ways. And so. The early church. Because of deviations. They had to give a set of. The first creed of the church.

[26:00] As we heard last week. Creed. Greek credo. Which means. Believe or trust. So. Creed is the things we believe. Alright. The. Pendant.

[26:13] Early church had. The first belief was. Jesus is Lord. That was the simplest belief.

[26:23] So those days. When you. I think we have to. Make sure we start. What you are telling me. In baptism. When we are going to do baptism. We have to ask you. Do you believe certain things? Do you believe that Jesus is Lord? Do you believe that he died for your sins?

[26:34] Do you believe what you say? Believe that we can baptize you. You have to make public confession. Before we baptize you. You know. So. The.

[26:44] The simplest form of their belief. Those days. Was. Jesus. Okurios. Jesus is Lord. But as time went on. People were bringing all kinds of things. So they had to settle this thing.

[26:55] The set of things we believe. The apostle's creed is not comprehensive. But at least. It gives us. It's a guide. Okay. It's a guide. And it is not the Bible. It doesn't replace the Bible.

[27:05] It's just a guide. Of. If. So. That means that. In your Christian journey. When you meet. A. Man of God. Or you yourself. Want to be a man of God. Or something.

[27:16] How do you know you are going off? When you go off this set of beliefs. You know you are going off. Yeah. And it helps. It helps you to. So it doesn't matter. As you read your Bible. You see something. Sometimes you may see some things.

[27:27] And misinterpret it to mean something. But as you miss it. You realize. No. It doesn't agree with. The set. So we. The apostle's creed said. I believe in God. The father almighty. Creator of the. Creator of heaven and earth.

[27:39] And in Jesus Christ. His holy son. His only son. Our Lord. Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Born of the virgin Mary. Suffered under pointeous place. Was crucified. Died. And was buried.

[27:49] He descended into the dead. On the third day. He rose again. From the dead. He ascended into heaven. And he seated at the right hand of God. The right hand. Of.

[28:00] Is it God the father. And he. From thence. He shall come. To judge the living. And the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit. The holy. Catholic church.

[28:10] I hear. In care groups. Some people were wondering. The Catholic. The Catholic church. Is universal. So the Catholic. Is not Roman Catholic. There's a difference between. The holy. Catholic church. And Roman Catholic church. Please.

[28:21] Alright. So anytime you come across. The holy. In the apostles. The holy. Catholic church. Is not talking about. The Roman Catholic church. The holy. Catholic church. That means. The holy.

[28:31] Universal church. So I believe. In the holy spirit. The holy. Universal church. The communion of sins. The forgiveness of sins. The resurrection of the body. And the life everlasting.

[28:42] Amen. And last week. We spoke about. I believe. In the last few. Moments left. In my next 10 minutes. I want to talk about. I believe. In what? In God.

[28:54] The father. Almighty. I believe. In God. So. When we say. God. That's why someone said. There is no God. We can. You can't say.

[29:04] There is no God. And be a Christian. How can you be a Christian. When you say. There is no God. You can't say. There is no God. And be a Christian.

[29:15] So you see. Guidance. Anytime. Someone is telling you. God is not. Real. He's telling you. You're moving away. From the faith. You're about to.

[29:25] Deviate from the faith. And. That's doctrines. Thought by devils. Right. So. I believe. In God. When we talk about God. There's. Monotheism.

[29:37] There's polytheism. There's pantheism. And there's all kinds of. Isms. So. More. Polytheism. When you believe in different.

[29:48] Different gods. Like what we are reading today. In Acts chapter 17. At. Athens. They had a lot of different gods. In the verse 16.

[29:59] Bible said. Paul was troubled. In his spirit. Because when he saw. The city was given to. Idols. You can't be. A godly person. And see some things.

[30:11] Going on. And not be troubled. In your spirit. Yeah. So sometimes. There are. There are things. I will say. I will speak in a particular way. And it's not because. I'm not. A nice person.

[30:22] Because you know I am. But it's because. It's because. My spirit is troubled. With this kind of thing. That the thing. Disturps your spirit. So when you are.

[30:32] A Christian. You must learn. How to be sensitive. To the spirit. And sometimes. Your spirit. Just can't take some things. You see the guy. The guy. I want to marry you.

[30:42] But he can't. Your spirit. Hmm. My spirit. It's different from. I was troubled. That's why I said. Take that scripture. Take that one off. Because. They water it down.

[30:54] Not that it's bad. It's saying something. But. You can't use that. For proper. Biblical growth. So. His spirit was provoked. Within him. When he saw the city.

[31:04] Was giving. Over to idols. Idols. His spirit was provoked. With him. Whoa. He was there. His spirit. Was just. Provoked. And then.

[31:15] Bible says that. He saw that they were. They had. Different. Different. Different idols. Hey. Different God. God. In fact. When he was. We was talking to them. He said something today.

[31:25] As I read it. He blessed me. I actually didn't see it previously. I think the verse 28. It says that God who. No. Not in him. The 29 rather. God who created the heavens. And then. Since. Since.

[31:36] We are. We are the offspring of God. We ought not to think that the divine nature is like gold. Because we are not gold. Silver. We are not silver. Or stones. We are not stone.

[31:47] So why are you making gold stone? I just found a very interesting. Something shaped by art. Or man's. Devicing.

[31:58] But you are not shaped by art. So why are you making gold that? You see. They have been worshipping those things for a long time. They didn't even realize that. What they are doing was quite.

[32:09] Imbecile. Paul had to reason with them. And tell them that we are not like that. So now when we say I believe in God. We are not talking about. Many God. Pantheism.

[32:20] Sorry. Politheism. And pantheism is all of them. One is okay. We are worshipping all of them together. Have you. Some of you. I'm sure you might have met somebody.

[32:31] Especially. Those people who are into Hollywood and those things. They say I've tried everything. So I did a lot of. A bit of Christianity. A bit of Islam. A bit of Judaism. A bit of Hinduism.

[32:43] That is a very confused person. Very confused person. So. When we say I believe.

[32:53] We believe in God. And in the first place. But when you put the apostle's script. On the screen. It. Interesting. Jesus said when you pray. Say. Our father. But here.

[33:05] It didn't say. We believe. What did he say? I believe. Because it's so personal. It's a personal thing. We can't say we all believe together. Because. I might be saying we all believe it.

[33:15] But you believe something different. And he said that. Upon who do men say I am? And Simon Peter. Matthew 16 said. You are. It's Peter. It didn't say they said.

[33:27] Peter said. And Jesus said. Peter. He addressed Peter. He said. Upon this rock. It's based on a personal revelation. And confession. That. The church is built. So your. Your part. Being part of Christianity.

[33:38] Is not because your parents. Are Christians. But it's because of your. Personal convictions. About Jesus Christ. Based on the word of God. So when we say. We believe in God. I believe in God.

[33:49] There is God. And who. Which God are you talking about? I believe in God. The father. Almighty. That's a very serious one. Because. When you listen to the message.

[34:00] I preached. A while ago. On Apostles Creed. I think you should go and listen to it. It's. I spoke about how. Protocols. There are protocols. Now. In the same way.

[34:11] In the times of old. God gave them. Protocols. Of addressing God. That's why when Jesus was. Teaching us how to pray. Say. When you pray. Say. You have to address God. That's a way to address God.

[34:22] There are protocols. And in those days. God. There's several ways of addressing God. Or names to address God. Jehovah Jireh. Jehovah Nissi. Several names. Quite a lot. You address God.

[34:33] Based on the protocol. But. None of them. And even. Most of this religion. There's no religion. Most of the. That address God as father. Excuse me.

[34:44] Why do you mean my father? Hey. You can call him father. There was. Once. One day. A Jewish rabbi. Called Jesus Christ. He was walking. And started addressing God as father.

[34:55] And so. In John chapter. Five. Verse. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. They actually wanted to kill him. Because he broke the Sabbath day. But the problem was not only the Sabbath day.

[35:08] Therefore. Go to the verse seventeen please. But Jesus answered. My father has been working. Until now. After he has healed somebody on the Sabbath day. And they were saying.

[35:19] Why have you done this? He told them. My father has been working. Until now. And I have been working. Look at the next verse. They said. Therefore. The Jews sought all the more. Say all the more. All the more.

[35:29] All the more. To kill him. Why? Because. Because he not only broke the. First one. We want to kill you. You break the Sabbath. But now you make it worse. By calling. But God was his father.

[35:42] Where is this coming from? You can't call God your father. God is not our father. So when the apostles read. We say. I believe in God.

[35:53] The father. Ah. That's a serious one. In what way? Are we? The sons of God? Now. There's some philosophers. Try to. Some time ago.

[36:03] To reduce. Every belief. To its barest minimum. So. Christianity. Judaism. Islam. Hinduism. All the belief. To its barest minimum.

[36:14] To see. What we all have in common. And then they reduce Christianity. To the barest minimum. God. The fatherhood of. God.

[36:25] Okay. It's the universal fatherhood of God. And the universal brotherhood of man. God is not the father of all. God is not the father of all. I know what you're thinking about.

[36:35] But today. When we read in. Acts chapter 17. Paul told them. That. If we are the offspring of God. He was quoting their own point. That being offspring of God.

[36:46] That means that. We came from God. Doesn't mean that we are God's children. In that. In the. In the sense that. We are creatures of God. We are the product of God. That's what he was talking about.

[36:57] We are the product. You see. He says that. In him we live and move and have have been. As also some of your own poets have said. So. He was trying to identify.

[37:08] Speak to them. In language they can. They are. They are familiar with. That your own. Poets have been saying this. So. I'm just. Explaining that. So. Don't reduce God. Then look at the next verse.

[37:19] Oh. We are. No. No. Sorry. Go back. Go back. I'm sorry. For. We are. We are. We are. Also his offspring. So. You're quoting what the poet said. But the poet said this.

[37:30] Thinking that all of us came from God. There's no way where Bible says that. Human beings are all the children of God. We are all. We are not all children of God. We are all not children of God.

[37:42] No. No. We can't be. But in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 18. The Bible talks about how we have been brought into the family of God. Ha. Let's read here from the screen. If you can see this small tiny screen. Let's go. For the reading.

[37:53] The Lord has access to us. The spirit of the Father. Next verse. Verse 19. Now let's go. You are no longer strangers and foreigners. But fellow citizens with a saint.

[38:06] And members of. Did you see that? Members of what? The household. The household of God. Now. That household of God. When you now. Now you can use New Living Translation. It might say something different.

[38:17] You see. You are members of God's family. But that's what living. New Living Translation is good. Yeah. You can't just use your own judgment. So. God's family.

[38:28] All right. So. We are part of God's family. When you read Romans chapter 8. Verse 14 to 16. It talks about. As many as. It says. For as many as are led by the spirit of God.

[38:39] What are they? What are they? What are they? So that means that those who are not led by the spirit of God. They are not. No human beings are led by the. Just the.

[38:49] As many. Just. It's putting a cap on it. It's not everybody who is a son of God. But look at verse 15. Why are we? In what way are we sons? It says. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage against you.

[38:59] But you have received the spirit of what? The spirit of what? So originally you are not part of the family. But you have been adopted into the family of God. Hallelujah. How did we get adopted?

[39:12] Because. Bible says we have received the spirit of adoption. Adoption. Yes. That's it. Having predestinated us to adoption of sons. So originally we were no sons.

[39:24] For God so loved the world that he gave what? His only. Only. His only. But because of Jesus. Now we have been adopted into the family of God.

[39:37] Hallelujah. And so we can call God. Father. Someone say. Father. No religion. No religion can make anyone a child of God.

[39:49] John 1. 12. It says that as many as believed in him. What? He gave them the power. Hallelujah. To them he gave.

[40:01] Power to become. Now watch. This is very interesting. Let's all read here from the screen. Let's go. Let's go. What? What? As many as received him. It's very. I was not.

[40:11] Even to them that. You see. He has. He has thrown more light on. Receive. What makes you a son of God. When you receive him. What does he mean to receive him?

[40:22] Believe. Apostles creed. I believe in God. It has to do with belief. Christianity rises and falls on belief. And your belief is based on what information.

[40:35] The content. What's that? The quality of your belief has everything to do with the content of your belief. So he says that we are the sons of God.

[40:46] That's why when Jesus was teaching us to pray. He said when you pray. Say. Father. Now he has changed the game. God is no longer just a creator. He is a creator.

[40:57] Yes. He is our maker. Yes. But he has moved further. And now we are. We are his children. And we call him daddy. Daddy. Daddy.

[41:08] He said. For you have received the spirit of adoption. Whereby we cry. Abba. Father. Someone shout. Abba. Father. Abba.

[41:19] Shout it again. Abba. Father. Abba. For a long time. Abba. Father. Abba. Father. Abba. Children. When they growing up in those days.

[41:31] The most endeared way of expressing their affection to their father. Daddy. Abba. Abba. Abba. Abba. Abba. Go. Even now. In Jewish circles.

[41:43] The children call that. Abba. Abba. Abba. Abba. I know your own is. Dada. Some of you. Dad. Some of you. Poppy. Poppy. Poppy. Poppy.

[41:53] Poppy. Abba. Abba. Abba. Abba. Abba. Now. Not just father. But very very personal. Abba.

[42:05] Father. Where is it coming from? We have the spirit of adoption. Adoption. It's not. It's not mental tuning. It's deep spirit. Spirit of adoption.

[42:16] There is something deep in you. That identifies God as father. When you become born again. Soon as you become born again. So you see. That's why people who are not born again.

[42:26] Who are not born again. They don't understand a lot of things we do. You might flow in it. But you are not a child of God. Because in 1st John chapter 5 verse 1. It says that whoever believes that Jesus is Christ.

[42:39] Is born of God. God has born you. Has been born into existence in God. When you are born. You have natural fatherhood. But now God must become your father.

[42:51] So when we say. I believe in God the father. That statement father is loaded. It's also Trinitarian in its core. At its core. He's talking about God the father.

[43:03] Every time you say God the father. You are talking about the trinity. Soon as you. You can't talk about God the father. Without God the son. That's why when I was teaching. The beginning of the lockdown.

[43:14] Worship. Worship. I spoke. I talked on. The true worshiper. I spoke about the father. Jesus said. The time is coming. When the true worshiper. Shall worship the father. Now you can't say.

[43:24] I worship the father. And not worship the son. Because the father and the son. John 10 30. I and my father are one. So the father and the son. Are one and the same. Now that's so Trinitarian.

[43:36] So when we say. I believe in God the father. We are talking about the trinity. Now most of us. When we talk. I'll go into that later.

[43:46] When we talk about trinity. Some of you. Most of us. Some of us. We think that. It's just. Three gods. And. Like. One of the biggest problem. Of Islam.

[43:57] Is that. How can you say. You worship three gods. You Christians. Worship three gods. You worship three gods. It's mono. Monotheism. One God.

[44:08] For those. He foreknew. He also. Predestined. Romans. 8 29. For those. He foreknew. He also.

[44:19] Predestined. To be conformed. Into the image. Of his son. That he might be the firstborn. Amongst many. We are many. Many brethren. But God has already.

[44:30] Predestined us. Because he foreknew us. He set his love on us. The fact that you are born again. Is not because. You are. You are so religious. And godly. You are born again.

[44:40] Because God set his heart on you. He said. Watch. Watch. Watch this. Let me say this and end. Set his heart on you. And you know what he did.

[44:52] He wooed you. Because. If we had left here. You wouldn't have been in church. Oh yeah. Some of you. Church was the last item. On your agenda. No.

[45:03] You wouldn't have. You. You. That's why people. I've been surprised that. So now you two are in church. It's not the pastor's good preaching. It is God's.

[45:14] Winning you. Himself. He won you. He stole your heart. Or he won your heart. And we worship him forever. Love him forever. God has won your heart.

[45:27] That's why some. You know. This lockdown. You almost left church. But look at ya. Look at ya. You couldn't go. Because God has won you over.

[45:37] You remember when you left. And you went to your. Those friends again. You came back now. You couldn't go. You couldn't go. You can't. Some people have gone. But they'll come back. Because. Already God.

[45:48] They have tested the good word of God. Anyway. So when we say we believe in God. The father almighty. We are talking about. The trinity.

[45:58] We are talking about. Our father. Who had in heaven. And. He is almighty. No demon. Or family. Devil is stronger than him. And.

[46:10] By God's grace. We will continue on the next one. Creator. Of the heavens. And the earth. The heaven and the earth. Didn't just bang into existence. Somebody just made it.

[46:21] That's what we believe as Christians. Somebody just made it. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

[46:32] Somebody shout. I believe in God the father. Believe in God the father. Should I believe in God the father. Believe in God the father. For the last time. Should I believe in God the father.

[46:44] Believe in God the father. Put your hands together. Father. Thank you for listening to this message. By David Entry. To hear more from David Entry. Follow him on Facebook.

[46:56] Instagram. Twitter. And LinkedIn. You can also subscribe to Carish Church on YouTube. Don't forget to share. And subscribe to our podcast. So you are always up to date. Be blessed.